Smart Sutures Can Collect Data!

Smart Sutures can collect Data – can you believe the rapid changes that are impacting healthcare! It really does sound like the future has arrived! According to an article published in the latest Microsystems & Nanoengineering journal which you can read in full here>>engineers have been able to integrate nano-scale sensors, electronics and microfluidics into threads that can be sutured through multiple layers of tissue to gather diagnostic data wirelessly in real time.

The threads can collect data on tissue health (e.g. pressure, stress, strain and temperature), pH and glucose levels that can be used to determine such things as how a wound is healing, whether infection is emerging, or whether the body’s chemistry is out of balance. The results from the testing were able to be transmitted wirelessly to a cell phone and computer.

The three-dimensional platform is able to conform to complex structures such as organs, wounds or orthopedic implants.

“The ability to suture a thread-based diagnostic device intimately in a tissue or organ environment in three dimensions adds a unique feature that is not available with other flexible diagnostic platforms,” said Sameer Sonkusale, Ph.D., corresponding author on the paper and director of the interdisciplinary Nano Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University’s School of Engineering. “We think thread-based devices could potentially be used as smart sutures for surgical implants, smart bandages to monitor wound healing, or integrated with textile or fabric as personalized health monitors and point-of-care diagnostics.”

The Nurses for Nurses Network provides great information and CPD on an array of nursing topics including wound care in a range of easy learning ways including webinars and quizzes on the latest information that Nurses need to know – remember the Nurses for Nurses Network was created by Australian Nurses for Nurses ! www.nursesfornurses.com.au